We eat a lot of pasta because it’s generally a good way to encourage my children to eat vegetables and proteins.
It’s summertime, so we always love to grill whenever we can. Grilling is a heart-healthy way to prepare food, and chicken tastes better when it’s been cooked on the grill.
Veggie-Packed Chicken and Penne
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (all visible fat discarded)
- 4 ounces penne pasta
- 1 red bell pepper (cut into large strips)
- 1 tsp olive oil
Chicken Marinade
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 garlic clove (minced)
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
Pasta sauce
- 1⅓ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 tablespoon shallot (minced)
- 1 cup chopped asparagus (about 9-12 spears)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup fresh basil (chopped)
- 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Pound the chicken to ¼-inch thickness
- Put the chicken in a bowl. Mix together all of the marinade ingredients, and pour the marinade over the chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the penne pasta according to package directions and be sure to omit the salt.
- While the pasta is cooking, cut 1 red bell pepper into strips and brush the strips with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Set the pepper strips aside for grilling, we'll grill the chicken and red pepper together.
- Grill the chicken and the red pepper. Once the pepper is soft and a little charred, chop it into small ¼-inch pieces. Once the chicken registers an internal temperature of
- Grill the chicken and the red pepper. Once the pepper is soft and a little charred, chop it into small ¼-inch pieces. Once the chicken registers an internal temperature of 165 °F, let it rest about 5 minutes before slicing into strips about ½ inch thick.
Make the pasta sauce
- Cook the chicken broth, minced garlic and minced shallot over high heat for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped asparagus. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 3 minutes.
- Remove the broth with the cooked asparagus, shallot and garlic from the heat and let it cool a little.
- Cut up the grilled red pepper into small pieces and add it to the sauce.
- Add the ¼ teaspoon garlic powder and1 teaspoon white wine vinegar to the sauce.
- Toss the cooked penne pasta with the sauce and the chicken. Top with the fresh basil and grated parmesan.
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